Poe Ballantine is the guest. His new novel, Whirlaway, is available now from Hawthorne Books. 

In today's monologue, I talk about my vacation in Michigan.

Jamel Brinkley is the guest. His debut story collection, A Lucky Man, is available now from Graywolf Press.

In today's monologue, I talk about being on vacation. 

Chelsea Hodson is the guest. Her new essay collection, Tonight I'm Someone Else, is available now from Henry Holt. It is the official June pick of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club.

This is Chelsea's second time on the program. She first appeared in Episode 340 on January 7, 2015.

In today's monologue, I talk about how hard it is to talk about suicide and Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade.

It's been a rough week. The suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain are so incredibly sad. The effects ripple out. We feel the sting of these losses in a strangely personal way. They seem to function as both standalone tragedies and universal distress signals, indicators of the great suffering roiling beneath the surface in so many of us.

With this in mind, I thought I'd repost my conversation with Jennifer Michael Hecht, from December 29, 2013. Her book Stay: A History of Suicide and the Arguments Against It is essential reading.

Hang in there, you guys.

Aja Gabel is the guest. Her debut novel The Ensemble is available now from Riverhead Books.

In today's monologue, I talk about losing my shit on an umbrella.

Jonathan Evison is the guest. His latest novel, Lawn Boy, is available now from Algonquin Books. 

This is Jonathan's third time on the program. He first appeared in Episode 1 on September 14, 2011, and again in Episode 382 on September 30, 2015.

In today's monologue, I talk about the song that keeps destroying my focus.